Training

Ciro Coffee Academy

At Ciro Coffee Academy, education is at the heart of everything we do. We have always taken pride in being leaders and pioneers in the South African coffee industry, particularly regarding coffee training and skills upliftment, and we have enjoyed sharing our knowledge and experience with thousands of coffee enthusiasts and professionals to date.

For the first time in South Africa, the Ciro Coffee Academy now offers a range of Speciality Coffee Association (SCA) certified courses, to ensure that the training is of the highest quality and meets global coffee education standards. The SCA hosts the most advanced and respected coffee training qualifications in the world and sets the industry benchmarks for education in the coffee industry. The courses on offer form part of the Coffee Diploma System of the SCA and will be issued to trainees once 100 credits have been achieved through the different modules.

Ciro’s newly Authorised SCA Trainers (ASTs) will have 10 modules on offer across our 9 training centres nationally that, within the Coffee Diploma System, will suit a variety of levels of coffee training.

By providing this world-class education platform, Ciro Coffee Academy believes that this will have a significant impact on the local coffee industry and will raise the standards in coffee training in South Africa. Our ASTs will be equipped with some of the latest and most advanced coffee training material in the world and we will be able to offer this to you through the Ciro Coffee Academy.

Speciality Coffee Association (SCA) Courses

The Speciality Coffee Association (SCA) sits at the very heart of the international coffee community, where thousands of coffee professionals and enthusiasts share their wealth of coffee knowledge and experience with one another. (For more information on the SCA, visit www.sca.com)

Central to the SCA’s purpose is to improve coffee standards through furthering knowledge and education through the Coffee Diploma System (CDS). There are 4 different modules in different disciplines on offer at Ciro Coffee Academy, each with 3 levels of qualification (except for Introduction to Coffee which is only 1 level). For every module you can gain points for each level of qualification taken. When you achieve 100 points, you will be awarded with the Coffee Diploma.

Introduction to Coffee

Introduction to Coffee is an ideal module for anyone who is new to the coffee industry or just has an interest in this wonderful drink. It maps coffee’s journey from its origins in Ethiopia to the major commodity it is today; enjoyed by millions of people around the world. From farming the cherries through drying, roasting, brewing and finally drinking, this module looks at the processes coffee goes through. This half day course also includes a “coffee cupping” which allows you to taste the various flavours coffee has to offer.

Barista Skills

Barista Skills is for people focusing on the key skills required to set your grinder, make espresso and foam and texture milk for cappuccinos. This module allows you to gain a deeper understanding of the coffee itself and build on your practical skills for milk technique and latte art; not to mention health and safety, customer service and basic business. The Professional level is aimed at the baristas with considerable experience as it takes a scientific and managerial perspective to coffee and making espresso-based drinks.

Brewing

The study of Brewing introduces you to the different ways of brewing coffee: from Chemex and Siphon to clever Dripper and French Press. In addition, this module allows you to get hands-on and learn to analyse your grind profile, match your grind to your brewing method and to measure coffee’s strength scientifically and chart a coffee’s extraction. At the Professional level, you cover the impact of temperature on brewing, acidity levels during the brewing process, the impact of water quality on coffee brewing and flavour and learn to understand how to chart espresso and brew within a given extraction percentage.

Roasting

Roasting gives you an understanding of the roasting process, including the roast cycle and how to control sensory aspects of the coffee by roasting light or dark. In addition, this module covers roast defects, the physical changes that beans undergo during the roasting process, as well as work space management and lean production. In the Professional level, it gives you the skills and knowledge needed as a manager to plan and execute quality control, create a product range to meet different preferences, calculate production costs and ensure efficient production.

For more information on the SCA and the courses that are on offer, please download the brochure below: